Licking hot metal spoons to expose lies: Egypt’s oldest tribal judicial system

Al Arabiya: The Ayaidah tribe might not be as well-known as other Egyptian tribes, yet it is definitely one of the most intriguing. This is mainly attributed to the fact that its members are the only ones that still hold on to a practice known as the world’s most ancient lie detecting system, the “bisha’h.”
While Bedouin tribes both inside and outside Egypt are known for maintaining their own judicial system, in which they resolve disputes and penalize criminals through a bunch of 8More on Page 7, Col
(From Page 8) customary laws, the “bisha’h” in particular is known to have died almost everywhere except in the Ayaidah tribe, based in the governorate of Ismailia in north-eastern Egypt.
“Bisha’h,” or trial by ordeal, is generally believed to date back to ancient Mesopotamia although several historical accounts assert it is originally Egyptian. It is used as a means of determining whether a suspect in a crime is innocent or guilty. The ritual involves heating a metal spoon, ladle, or rod and making the suspect lick it in the presence of tribal representatives. If the suspect’s tongue blisters, he is guilty and the suitable verdict is issued and if it is left unscathed, he is innocent and set free. This kind of trial is used for a wide range of offences such as theft, vandalism, murder, and illicit sexual relations and at times witchcraft and proof of parentage. The tribe particularly resorts to “bisha’h” when evidence is lacking and neither the defendant nor the plaintiff can provide witnesses. The ritual is always conducted by a tribe dignitary labelled the “mubasha’” or the “executor of the bisha’h.”
The practice is based on the assumption that a guilty person would be extremely nervous, hence would have a dry tongue while an innocent person’s saliva will prevent the tongue from burning. It is also said to have originated among Bedouins in particular since common punishments like incarceration were not possible in nomadic communities.
Expert in tribal heritage Jihad Abu Ghoraba said that both the defendant and the plaintiff have the right to bring two witnesses to the “bisha’h” to make sure the process is done properly. “If the defendant does not show up, he is automatically considered guilty,” he said. Abu Ghoraba added that the result of the “bisha’h” is final and cannot be appealed. “This means that the defendant if proven guilty has to accept the verdict and the plaintiff cannot take any further measures against the defendant.” According to Ghoraba, the ritual is now used as a last resort in case the two parties failed to resolve the dispute in a peaceful way. “So in cases of manslaughter or murder, if the family of the deceased accepts a compensation at the start of the gathering, the ritual is not carried out.”
According to Yehia al-Ghoul, a customary judge in the city of Arish in the Sinai Peninsula, the “bisha’h” is now used more for deterrence than as an actual means of determining whether a suspect if guilty. “In the past, it was always hard to prove how a crime was committed or who committed it, but now the situation is different and more tools are available,” he said. “Trial by fire is now used to intimidate suspects into confession if they are guilty.”
There is no law that criminalizes “bisha’h” in Egypt, which might be among the reasons why it is still practiced there. The ritual was officially banned in Jordan in 1976 through a decree by the late King Hussein. In Saudi Arabia, the “bisha’h” was strongly condemned by religious scholars in as superstitious and anti-Islamic and Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Wahab managed to ban the practice among members of the Mutayr tribe, one of the largest in the country and the Arabian Peninsula.